


Seek and Destroy

by ztannas



Series: Cahills Assemble! [1]
Category: The 39 Clues - Various Authors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Cahills Assemble! series, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-01
Updated: 2012-09-01
Packaged: 2017-11-13 08:39:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/501570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ztannas/pseuds/ztannas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>HYDRA has a new top agent, armed and ready to take on the Avengers. Natalie Kabra and Dan Cahill are told they're too young to fight, but when they get caught in the middle of the war, they disregard their siblings' warnings and attempt to save the world themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seek and Destroy

**Author's Note:**

> (title pending)

“Yo, Nat!”

Natalie Kabra paused for a moment as she considered hiding behind the hot dog vendor’s cart so she wouldn’t have to acknowledge the voice addressing her. She recognized the voice immediately and the person it belonged to always had a knack for getting her in deep trouble.

“Natalie!”

She groaned aloud and, giving in to her curiosity, turned toward the boy behind her.

Daniel Cahill was a nuisance of a rare breed. He managed to be both annoyingly intelligent _and_ incredibly stupid—a feat she had never witnessed before he barged into her life. He had a head for numbers like her brother, and certain street smarts that societal-conscious Natalie lacked. He lived in basic poverty for most of his life, after all, and knew some very peculiar characters in the city. Heaven knows what kinds of people he attracted. That alone was enough for Natalie to never want to be near him.

But he _was_ marginally good-looking and much better company than her brother’s stodgy friends.

Natalie made a disgusted face at the hot dog he was currently stuffing into his mouth, “What do you want, Daniel?”

He swallowed and wiped the back of his hand on his mouth, “Just wonderin’ how you are,” he paused for another bite, “you know, since your big bro grounded you.”

Natalie gritted her teeth. Her brother was not in her good graces at the moment. He had taken her cybernetic suit and told her that she wasn’t allowed to help on missions anymore until she was 18.

“I don’t want you getting hurt,” he’d said, and she knew he meant it to be a caring gesture but it just made her feel useless.

She glared at Dan, who was now starting on his second hot dog, this one covered in pickle relish. He wasn’t so different from her—his sister had told him basically the same thing. The only difference was Dan’s _stupid powers_ came from his genetics, not his suit, so Amy hadn’t really been able to punish him.

Natalie especially hated him for that.

“So,” he began again, “how are you?”

“I’m fine, Daniel,” she spat out the words like venom, and smiled as he seemed to step back slightly, “how are you?”

The boy shrugged, his dirty blond hair falling in his face, “Same old, same old.”

She looked down at her newly manicured nails, then back up at him with a quirked eyebrow (newly plucked), “Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Nah,” he threw his trash in the bin at the corner of the sidewalk, “this is favorite pastime.”

“What, eating?”

“Nope,” the word came from his mouth with a ‘pop,’ “annoying you, princess.”

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him—‘ _some people never change_ ,’ she thought.

Her heels clicked along the smooth concrete as she walked, the squishing of Dan’s sneakers soon joining them in a mismatched harmony.

It was obvious he liked her about as much as she liked him – which was not at all – so why did he insist upon following her like they were best friends?

She snuck a glance at him from her peripherals—worn-in t-shirt, cargo shorts with holes in the pockets, dirt covering his shoes—and compared him to herself, neatly dressed in pressed jeans and a cream-colored blouse. They must have made an interesting pair to passerby.

She watched him blow his hair out of his eyes, hands still residing in his pockets, and realized he may not be such horrible company—at least when he wasn’t talking.

Suddenly a scream erupted from the newspaper stand across the street. Without hesitation both teenagers took off towards the sound, praying it wasn’t what they thought.

-

Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth was not capable of failing—or, at least, that’s what she told herself.

She was a top HYDRA agent and a well-respected member of New York’s high society.

Failure was never an option for her.

So, when she spotted two of the Avenging brats heading towards her, her fellow agents were surprised when she gave the command to disperse. She wasn’t the kind of woman who gave up without a fight, after all.

But Isabel just smiled at her comrades like she held the secret to world domination in the palm of her hands—which, of course, she believed she did.

Sometimes, in war, it’s not how you hit that makes an impact, but _what_ you hit.

And Isabel knew _exactly_ who her target was.

-

“They’re gone.”

Natalie nodded at her breathless companion, and averted her eyes as he reached for his inhaler. She knew he didn’t need it anymore, not really, but having it was a comfort to him and she knew when to give people their space.

The HYDRA agents had disappeared before she and Dan had even made it halfway across the street, leaving a small crowd of bewildered people and an injured man in an Italian-cut suit.

Natalie didn’t recognize him, but if HYDRA wanted him, then he must be important. Dan reached down to help the man up, glancing at Natalie and then back at the crowd, silently asking her to get rid of them.

She rolled her eyes—she didn’t take orders from anyone lower than her—but complied. Bossing people around _was_ her specialty…

She managed to convince the small crowd that the man was fine and she’d get him to the hospital herself—“No need for police to get involved”—and they slowly scattered back into the packed city streets.

“Natalie,” Dan’s voice drew her back to the newspaper stand, the man now sitting on the curb with his head in his hands, “I think you should hear his story.”

She cocked an eyebrow, but gingerly sat down next to the man, taking extra care to make sure the back of her jeans was the only part of her touching the dirty concrete.

“This is Dr. Shepard Trent,” Dan said, nodding towards the distressed man, “he’s a specialist in aerodynamic technology.”

That name sounded strangely familiar to Natalie, but she couldn’t figure out why. Had SHIELD used his tech before?

Then Dan answered her question, “He’s also my uncle.”

Natalie nodded, realization suddenly hitting her. Dan’s father, Arthur Trent, was the co-founder of the Avenger Initiative back in the 70’s. He was barely out of high school when Fiske contacted him about the program. He was a special case, though. His genetics were damaged after a near-lethal impact with cosmic radiation, leaving his skin almost like armor with its elasticity.

She knew that Dan’s uncle and mother were also with Arthur and were all exposed to the radiation as well, only they received different lasting effects. His uncle, for example, could control heat, which was ironic considering his past involvement in activist arson.

“Nat,” Dan’s green eyes stared into hers with slight concern, then immediately blinked it away, “are you even listening?”

“No,” she admitted, irritation obvious in her tone, “but whatever it is shouldn’t be said _here_.”

“She’s right,” Shep stood up, offering a hand to Natalie, who took it out of politeness, “it isn’t safe on the streets.”

“I was referring to the grime on my trousers,” she muttered, glancing in the shop window to see if anything was stuck to the back of her.

Dan rolled his eyes and grasped her elbow, tugging her away from her reflection, “Come on, princess, my car is this way.”

-

“Did you dispose of the target?”

“We were interrupted by the Avengers’ offspring.”

“Then you know your next mission.”

“Yes.”

“Kill their leader.”

“Gladly.”

-

“Are we going to see your sister?” Natalie asked, buckling her seat belt, “Or Fiske?”

Dan switched off the radio—“Amy can track it”—and pushed the car into the next gear, causing Natalie to jerk forwards with the quick transition.

“Like hell we’re going to them,” Dan scowled, “we can handle this ourselves.”

Natalie smirked, leaning back in her seat, “I like the way you think, Daniel.”

Dan mirrored her expression, then called back to his uncle, “Is that cool with you?”

Natalie saw Dr. Trent (“it’s Shep, darling”) nod in the rearview mirror, and watched a familiar grin stretch across his face.

“I’ve missed this business,” he said, an impish gleam in his eyes, “life has been much too boring without the Fantastics.”

At that comment, he snapped his fingers, a spark jumping from his thumb to his middle finger, and Natalie couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips.

The last of the original Avengers was sitting two feet away from her—

They were going into battle with the Human Torch.


End file.
